For both environmental and economic reasons it is desirable to sort trash collected in public places into the various types of products (glass, food, aluminum, for example) making up the trash. This has many advantages, at least one of which is that it facilitates recycling.
A number of attempts have been made in the past to provide a compartmented trash receptacle. Several examples follow. U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,875 issued to Lundgren in 1972 for a group of receptacles that are useful for sorting garbage. In 1973, U.S. Pat. No. 3,720,346 issued to Cypher for a trash receptacle having a central vertical rod and vanes extending from the rod at various angles to provide compartments for different types of trash. In 1974, U.S. Pat. No. 3,856,173 issued to Deane et al for an arrangement of cans on a rack for use in sorting trash. In 1975, U.S. Pat. No. 3,904,218 issued to Kostle for a group of cans on a platform said to be useful in sorting trash. In that patent, a common cover for the cans has a generally vertical sidewall with various doors for receiving various types of trash respectively. Other forms of compartmented trash receiving devices include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,114,776 and 3,893,615 to Pluss and Johnson, respectively. In 1988, U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,639 issued for a can for pre-sorting garbage. That patent employed a roll of plastic packages and when a single package is removed from the roll it may be formed into a divider that divides the garbage can into three compartments.